Today was the regular luncheon meeting of the Christian Women's Club. I have been going to these luncheons since, I think, about 1995 or 1996. I have held many offices, including chair for three years, and I am still on the planning team. This group is affiliated with an international group called Stonecroft Ministries, whose headquarters are in Kansas City. It is an excellent group that supports missionaries and helps affiliates manage their clubs.
Stonecroft trains speakers, and maintains its own speakers group. These speakers travel to the various club meetings to speak at the monthly meetings. They are just ladies like all of us, who have a story to tell about how being or becoming a Christian has changed their lives.
Today's speaker traveled to Anderson from Manteno, Illinois to bring us her inspiring message.
Anitra was an excellent speaker with a delightful sense of humor. She told us about their 3000 acre farm, their four sons, and about eventually almost losing everything including the family homestead, before finally selling their acreage to a huge conglomerate. They did , however, manage to hang on to the original family homestead. And now her sons rent and farm the acreage for the conglomerate. She had many funny stories about the antics of four boys, and her experiences in helping work the farm. But it was their faith that saw them through all the hardships, and enabled them to accept the challenges in their lives.
Now, about the eats. We meet at what looks like a rag tag motel, The Days Inn. It is one of those old motels that has been bought by someone from another country needing to invest and start a new life. That is fine, but they have been unable to put any money back into maintenance of the building, itself. But at one end of the building is a pretty decent conference center that houses about three nice sized banquet rooms, and must have a good-sized kitchen.
Jim leases this part of the building, and has been banquet manager under various owners since the early 1990's. And Jim know his business and does an excellent job. He keeps the banquet rooms looking good, prepares delicious food, and with a minimum staff does an excellent job of serving us and clearing up. Our buffet luncheons are always delicious. Today we enjoyed three kinds of salad, roast beef and roast pork, potatoes, old-fashioned green beans, rolls, and
German chocolate cake. Great!
I also enjoyed the fun lunch conversation with good friends: Elaine, Heather, and Susie. Just a
perfect day.
This evening was just like every evening this week - very hot and very humid with storms threatening to arrive at some point. Well, this evening we didn't take off and leave the house.
We listened to the weather news which just called for heavy rain in Madison County, so we stayed home and braved the storm. Boy, it did rain and it did blow. Our lights and phone were out for a bit, also. But then it was over, and all is peaceful.
At about 9:30, I just happened to look out a window to the West. Wow! There was the most glorious sunset after all that storming. Far down on the western horizon it began with a soft peach which blended more and more into a vivid orange, then light lavender that blended more and more into deep purple in the night sky. It was just beautiful.
Perhaps a harbinger of the weather tomorrow. I think we are supposed to have some really nice days to end the week.
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